Chapter 29 (TROHP)
Review Responses: MyCatHasNoFleas: Thank you very much. Sadly, this will be the last chapter, until I can write the next phase/saga. I read up to chapter 18 of the story you suggested, but it's not the kind of story I generally read. Guest (Chapter 28): I wasn't being sarcastic, I think you'll like how Harry exploits his position though. I did take your advice, and it was added to my notes. comodo50: It was mainly silent disappointment, the second paragraph of this may be shocking for you. keyblademeister88: He was an Unspeakable, so I kinda felt he had to be. Potions ingredients? ...Or perhaps a ritual ingredient? I think you'll like reading the Authors Note at the bottom of the chapter. TheGreatBubbaJ: I know, I forgot, but didn't miss it on the next chapters. I'm glad you're liking it. anarion: Thanks, sadly there are no plans to do that. Authors Note: This will be the last chapter, while I complete the next phase/saga. Please read the Authors Note at the end of the chapter! It's very, very important! August 1st, 1996. It was surprisingly quiet since the Department of Mysteries, only Dementor attacks had occurred and I had destroyed fifty of the demons and forced them into a retreat. I placed all of the Light Faction, except for MacMillan and Smith, under the Fidelius. Excluding them caused them to fume in impotent anger and make empty threats against me, but I did have them watched as a precaution. I learned that Lord Macmillan was seeking Susan Bones for his son, but his son was indifferent and didn't care either way, but did care for her. Lord Smith wanted Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones for his worthless son Zacharias, so I just had to take that from him. Lord Smith was rather cruel and wanted to hurt Susan, so that stirred my sympathies. I advised Augusta to seal Neville and Hannah's relationship with a contract. All parties involved were agreeable, and that was my revenge against Smith for threatening me. I opened negotiations to ensure the Bones line continued and wasn't absorbed, by providing Susan or Amelia with heirs. Or both. I wasn't picky. I would be meeting with them today, but I was optimistic about my chances. My political maneuvers had worked well. Fudge had remained in power and was taking my advice. I upgraded the power of the Ministry's wards and discovered that it had a bloody massive ward stone and could handle Magus level wards. I, naturally, got them to full strength in a week. However, doing that forced me to realize that I needed to get stronger. I hated not being able to break wards that I contributed too, it was a weakness and therefore a threat to me. My brothers training had continued this summer, and he had made incredible progress since the end of the Triwizard Tournament. He was easily holding his own against our grandparents and would eventually be ready to fight both at the same time, he was already defeating Mom, Dad, and Sirius; albeit barely, but that was still very impressive. He only needed a fifteen-percent power growth to become a Grand Sorcerer, and he should have attained that coveted rank by September, if he worked hard. My parents seemed to have used my gift to them: a book on light or grey sex rituals, to bolster their power by thirty percent. Apparently my 'inappropriate gift' didn't go unused, and that helped them get to Warlock level power. Sadly, my investigation into who tampered with my brothers mind had gone nowhere. Dumbledore and Snape were both out of Hogwarts, though Dumbledore may have sneaked in, and Snape was dead. That meant there could be another unknown Legilimens at Hogwarts, and that was concerning because they were either pro-Dumbledore or pro-Voldemort. I knew that I couldn't just ask everyone to swear an oath on their magic, professing their innocence. That would cost our side support. "Now, I want you to detect the magic on this box," I said, to James. "Use only your Magic Sense, tuning out your other senses, and then sensing the intent and purpose behind the magic." He was taught basic Magic Sense a week ago, and could already do far more than most, but he could do better and possibly sense wards instead of just non-verbal spells. "The intent is to stun or incapacitate." James said, minutes later. "Good. Now remove the curse." I said, and he quickly did so. "Open the box." He did. "Now detect and break the spells on the box inside it." He sighed and got started. "The intent is inflict third degree burns," James said, giving me a wary look. "Anything else?" I asked as a hint, and caused him to reinspect it. "A fail safe that reactivates the curse on the first box and strengthens it. I have to remove the failsafe..." "You have to remove both at the same time." "How?" James asked in shock. "An over-powered counter spell," I replied. "I kept it simple for you to break, but still challenging." My magical mirror vibrated, and I quickly extracted it. "Voldemort has mobilized his Giants into the West Country! We count ten along with two Death Eaters and Voldemort himself! We have sent a Patronus message to the DMLE. They're in Devon now, and the Flamels are in route." Dorea closed the message. "We'll pick up the lesson later." I said, before quickly disapparating out. I arrived near my grandparents and the Flamels, and was pleased that our mirrors acted as beacons to travel to or track. Fortunately, we were a safe distance away. "Shall we attack?" I asked, already gathering my power and controlling the weather above the Giants. I noticed Nicolas' and Perenelle's eyes widen. My grandparents nodded, and I willed lightning bolts to strike down five Giants. Moments later, there was success. And the lightning had even burned holes into their heads! I quickly repeated the process and slew the other Giants. We disapparated closer to the Death Eaters, and I quickly blasted Voldemort into a tree, while my grandparents slew his minions. "Hey you filthy son of a near-squib! Fancy seeing you here!" I barraged him with the vilest curses I knew, but he quickly disapparated away. I sensed his arrival point and fired a custom torture curse. It hit and he screamed in agony, blood poured from his nose and eyes. I released it and let him fall onto the ground. "Did that hurt? If so, please rate the pain on a scale one one-to-ten. I tested it on you and need feedback or constructive criticism." The curse is inspired by the Horcrux creating spell, and literally broke the soul and then undid the damage to it. The result? Pain much worse than the Cruciatus Curse. "Harry, we're going back home." Charlus said. I nodded in understanding. It wouldn't do for the Ministry to catch them, not only would I lose family, but it would cause major issues for me and I would have to neutralize the Ministry, Tom, any rebellions against me, and the ICW. It really wasn't worth the risk. Voldemort, who I shall now strive to refer to as Tom, was no longer 'Lordly' enough to merit me calling him Voldemort. I actually found him to be quite weak. "Pathetic," I said, as Tom still lay in the dirt. "I dreamed of surpassing you and Dumbledore, and now you're an ant compared to me." His eyes widened and he disapparated away. Moments later, the Aurors apparated in. "Bloody hell! Potter you did all of this?" Scrimgeour asked in a combination of shock and horror. "I killed the Giants and beat Voldemort again, but he retreated like the coward he was. The Flamels took out his thugs." "Thank you, again. It seems you have a knack for defeating Dark Wizards. Are you sure I can't convince you to become an Auror?" "I'm positive. And I need to go, I have an important meeting later today." Scrimgeour nodded, and I disapparated away. I arrived back where I was teaching James basic Curse-Breaking and advanced Magic Sense, and saw my grandparents supervising his continued training. "How'd it go, Harry?" James asked. "It went well. Ten Giants dead, two Death Eaters dead, and Voldemort disapparated away; after I had beaten him into the ground." I said, causing James to become slightly angry. "When can I fight Voldemort?" He asked, eager to prove himself. "I think that after this year you should be ready, but I ideally after your NEWTs. That would maximize your chances of victory without waiting too long. I'd like you to outright dominate him or fight him on equal footing. That way, when you win, you can technically claim the title Light Lord and even have a fearsome reputation." I said, placating him. "What can I do to improve?" James asked. "Your speed needs major work, there are rituals for that. You need to be able to defeat both of our grandparents in a duel, that would be a good way to assess your progress. Apart from those two things you need to improve your skills in Occlumency, and continue your training and learning." "I'm a Seeker! I'm probably faster than you!" He said angrily, before finding my wand pointed at his face less than half a second later. "You're humanly fast. Not inhumanly fast. Voldemort and I are both inhumanly fast, but I'm faster than he is." James looked sufficiently cowed and humbled by my display and words. Hours later... I had just arrived near Bones Manor, eager to begin discussions for Susan's hand. And the rest of her too! "Welcome, Hadrian," Susan said, with a blush. We quickly got the Pure-blood mannerisms out of the way. "A pleasure to see you again, Susan." I replied, making sure that I was polite, gentlemanly, and charming, but not overly charming. I didn't want to scare her off, after all. "Please, come in! My auntie will be joining us in a moment, she had to recieve a briefing on a Giant attack." "Oh?" I asked. "Yeah, a really powerful wizard killed ten Giants and forced Voldemort to retreat. That's all I heard before I was shooed out of her office." Susan said, obviously impressed and not even realizing it was me that did all of that. "Impressive. Are you enjoying your summer so far?" "I guess. I can't really go out much due to the state of things, I'm a target too." Susan said sadly. "Sadly, that will at least last until James finishes his NEWTs. He's undergoing extreme training, in addition to his class work, and already working as hard as he can. I want to make sure he's ready before the big fight." I said, to Susan's agreement. "A good idea, Hadrian," Amelia said, making her presence known. "With you as a trainer he'll grow immensely powerful. I heard about your actions earlier," she said, to Susan's confusion. "He slew ten Giants, and had Voldemort on the ground beaten and crying. I wish I could have seen that!" "Thank you, Amelia. It wasn't really that impressive, just some knowledge that I was fortunate enough to acquire. From some traitors to the Athens School of Divine Magic." I said, causing some jaws to drop. "Damn!" Amelia said in shock. "That is very powerful magic! No Dark Lord has ever truly claimed Greece because of it's existence! I'm getting side-tracked though. Why don't you tell me why you're seeking a contract out of the blue when you've only talked to my niece a few times in your entire life?" "Well I overheard some people that I recently decided to annoy talking about absorbing two bloodlines. One even talked about using Susan as a broodmare and making you watch as she was broken and deprived of her chance to fulfill her dreams. His son found that hilarious. The other wanted something similar as well as a house-wife for his son and to absorb House Bones, apart from that his intent didn't seem as malicious as the other. The seconds son wasn't that interested." Susan looked horrified that someone would do that to her. Amelia looked pissed. "I, however, will provide House Bones with heirs for any titles known and unknown. All I want in return is to remove their access to family magic coming from my side, and the obvious... pleasure derived from conception." I added, causing Susan to blush and Amelia to look amused at her nieces innocence. "If Susan is agreeable, then I will sign the contract." Amelia said. "I'm okay with it, but I wanna know who said those things." Susan said, and Amelia began signing the contract. "Lord Smith and Zacharias wanted to humiliate, break, and degrade you. Lord Macmillan wanted you as a house-wife and to provide his son with heirs." I said, as Amelia finished signing the contract. I had already signed it. "I wish that I could retaliate against them without losing my job or having House Bones destroyed!" Amelia said angrily. Susan seemed to agree, so I decided to move forward with a few plans. "You can." I said, piquing their interest. "You could even reduce the Smith families magical power, somewhat. Sadly, House Macmillan and Clan Macmillan aren't viable options for retaliation." "Explain." Amelia said, all but ordering me to do so. I was strangely aroused by that, and made a mental note to seek help from a Mind-Healer. Me being submissive was unacceptable under any circumstances. "You and Susan are descended from Helga Hufflepuffs first born and heir. The Smiths are all descended from her second born and a squib who was absorbed into the Smith line. You or Susan can claim the Hufflepuff House and strip them of the Hufflepuff family magic. You also control twenty-five percent of Hogwarts, though it's not enough to counter the Heir of Gryffindor and Slytherin." "And who are they? The only Heir of Slytherin I've heard of is Voldemort." Amelia said, in concern. "They are one person. Me." I said, to the shock of the Bones women. "I won the Gryffindor Lordship, which was dormant and forgotten, from Arthur Weasley. I won the Slytherin and Gaunt Lordships from Tom Marvolo Riddle; also known as Lord Voldemort, Tommy-boy, Voldy, Moldyshorts, Snakeface, and the Dark Wanker. Suffice it to say, Voldemort is no longer Heir of Slytherin any longer." "That's good news," Amelia said in relief. "When will you announce your Lordships?" "Whenever I feel is best. I may need to announce them to provoke Tom, or to prevent a bills passage. I'm really just saving it for a special occasion. Will you be wanting to announce Susan's betrothal? It would both paint a target on her back and ward off those seeking her hand." "We should announce it at the next Wizengamot meeting. Susan should be safe under the Fidelius, and her betrothal to you should ensure no-one is foolish enough to attack her. Unless they have a death wish, of course." Amelia said, and both Susan and I nodded. It was good logic, and I would butcher anyone who came after her. I did need her for my plans after all. August 25th, 1996. It was finally the date of the Wizengamot meeting, and I had spent the last twenty-four days wisely. I underwent another ritual using reality manipulation and granted myself truly superhuman abilities. I furthered my studies with emphasis on growing my power further, sadly, I learned that I could only grow my power ten percent every three months. Any more would risk overload, but I was free to use that in addition to my training. If my suspicions were correct, then I would have plenty of time to build up my powers. Tom was likely to over-compensate for his weakness with more minions. "This August meeting of the Wizengamot will now begin," Augusta began. "Before we get to business, Madam Bones has an announce to make." "Thank you, Madam Chief Warlock," Amelia began. "I recently betrothed my niece, Susan, to Hadrian Potter, who agreed to provide House Bones with heirs." She said, causing Lord Smith and Macmillan to become angry. "You betrothed her to a Dark Wizard?!" Lord Smith questioned angrily. "Grey!" I called out in annoyance. "Who my niece marries is none of your business." Amelia said coldly. "You're a traitor to the Light Faction!" "Because she didn't curse her niece with the shame of marrying into your weak bloodline?" I asked, with a smirk. "We're descended from Helga Hufflepuff!" "You're descended from her second born, and a squib that was absorbed into House Smith by your ancestor." I said, snidely, angering the imbecile. "Yes, I made sure to study the ancestry of your bloodline. I found it greatly unimpressive!" I added, causing him to draw his wand and point it at me. I casually disarmed him with wandless magic. "Did I mention that I found the lost descendants of Helga Hufflepuffs, first-born and heir?" I asked, catching everyone's interest. Amelia stood up with a smirk. "Yes. I was quite surprised, but I was accepted as the Lady of the House." Lord Smith looked apoplectic. "I'm pleased to say that Houses Bones and Hufflepuff have a bright future with powerful descendants." "Which is far more than the Smiths could do, they're barely more powerful than their squib ancestor." I added, causing several people to laugh at Lord Smith, who glared murderously at me. "Go to hell, Dark Wizard!" Lord Smith said, angrily. I rolled my eyes in response, and nodded to father. "Grey!" I replied. "I move to expel House Smith from the Light Faction. I won't work with someone who slanders my heir!" Dad said, angrily, causing shock from the Light Faction. "I oppose this!" Lord Macmillan said. "Lord Smith is entitled to his opinion, and if Lord Potter can't handle it then perhaps he should leave the Light Faction." "That won't end well for the Light Faction," I said in sing-song voice, but still conveyed warning. "You can't do a damn thing to us, boy!" Lord Macmillan said angrily, and was rewarded by a cruel smirk from me. "Perhaps the Light Faction should choose who to expel..." I replied in a bored tone. I knew it would fail, Lord Smith was too politically threatening to expel and make an enemy of, and he was useful to them. I had another way though. "Yes. A vote. All those in favor of expelling House Smith?" Dad, Amelia, Lord Abbott, and Augusta raised their hands, and my allies smirked. There was still a mere one vote that would oppose us, so Dad would be leaving the Light Faction. "In that case, House Potter withdraws from the Light Faction." Dad said, before moving to a true neutral section. "The Grey Faction offers you a place." Lord Greengrass said. "I accept," Dad replied. Over the next two minutes House Longbottom joined the Grey Faction, followed by House Abbott, Bones, and Hufflepuff. "I'd like to take this time to reveal my possession of the Gryffindor Lordship, and it's four votes." I said, revealing the ring. "It has four votes and will be in the Grey Faction. That should put the Grey Faction at eighteen votes. The Light and Dark Faction's each have two. As I said, that won't end well for the Light Faction." I finished with a smirk, and sat down. The Light Faction looked like idiots, and they were, so it suited them quite well. "Any other business?" "I move to strip the Potters of all wealth, assets, and titles!" Lord Smith said, hatefully. "I demand an Honor Duel to avenge this insult to my family!" I shouted, angrily. "This low-bred, magically weak, piece of trash, dares question our place here? I have more magic in my little finger than the entire Smith blood-line!" I said, as Lord Macmillan tried calming down Lord Smith. "Speak, coward! Or do you need your masters permission?" I asked, nodding to Lord Macmillan. I had to divide them to achieve this! Smith made a huge mistake and I had to capitalize on it! Finally! Lord Smith stood up. "I accept!" He said, with a sneer. "I'll kill you, and keep your whores as my pets!" He was going to die for even thinking that! The idiot seemed to have realized that, because he suddenly looked very afraid. "Gentlemen, please step into the center and I will deploy the protective spells." Augusta said. I promptly did so, and Lord Smith did the same, but far less confidently. "Begin when ready!" Lord Smith began with a barrage of Blasting Curses. I just calmly cast my shield and waited for the idiot to finish. He stopped several seconds later, and I counter-attacked. I quickly blew his legs off with my Blasting Curse, and did the same to his arms. I calmly walked closer to inspect my work, and castrated him on my way over. What could I say? I believed in bringing gifts when I came over uninvited. "Hadrian Potter is the winner!" Augusta loudly proclaimed. "Yes. I claim House Smith as spoils!" I said, angering Lord Macmillan. Sadly, he was too intelligent to be provoked into rash action, which was unfortunate for me. "Congratulations, Lord Peverell-Gryffindor!" Augusta said, with a smile. "Is there any other business?" None spoke, so she dismissed us. I began walking out of the Ministry, quite pleased with myself. I had added quite a bit of wealth to my own and that didn't even account for magical knowledge. If all went well, then I would be damn near invincible soon. I exited the Ministry and sensed a magical power that was nearly equal to my own. I quickly disapparated away, but not before being tagged with a tracking spell by the unknown Magus. Moments later, I arrived in location far from civilization. I needed a place to fight this threat without being seen. Another moment later another man arrived. He was about six-foot, seven inches tall and built like a pro-wrestler. He had jet black hair and had scars all over his face and arms, the rest of him was cloaked in pure gold Ancient Greek battle armor. "Who are you?" I asked angrily. I hated being attacked! "Ares. The Greek God of War!" Ares said, with a sneer. He seemed to be disappointed when I didn't show fear. They're real? Was my only thought. "And what do you want?" I asked, in annoyance. "It's really quite simple, boy. You stole our knowledge, killed our descendants, and then were idiotic enough to use our knowledge in public. I'm here to kill you for your crimes against Olympus!" He said, before charging me, brandishing his sword. I quickly dodged and summoned the Sword of Gryffindor, and counter-attacked; cutting into his arm. Naturally, the cut rapidly healed, but that was okay, it was poisoned. I quickly parried his next strike, and siphoned his stamina from him, and kicked the back of his leg with my full, ritual-enhanced strength. I was rewarded by a sickening cracking noise and I cut off his right hand and hit him with a wandless Blasting Curse; at point black range. I smirked when he was knocked back into a boulder. I followed up with a barrage of stunners, but he teleported out of the way. He appeared several feet away, and his hand was already regrowing, but he seemed to already be feeling the effects of the Basilisk Venom in him. He charged again, and I cast a Lightning Curse at him, which stopped him in his tracks and caused him unimaginable agony, as his gold armor acted as the perfect conductor. He eventually collapsed a minute later, and I quickly stunned him. I quickly bound him in power suppressing restraints, removed the tracking spell, and disapparated us away. We arrived at Black Manor and I quickly stripped him of his armor and placed him into the ritual circle under the effects of a Coma Curse. "Potentiam, tuam accipio, ut mihi." I said. I felt foreign knowledge enter my mind, as a wave of energy was released and mostly absorbed into me. The shock of absorbing such power caused me to scream in agony. I felt my body absorb copies of his knowledge, skill, and experience, and then I passed out. I awoke an unknown amount of time later, sore all over, but with a lot of magical power coursing through me. I felt both amazing and terrible at the same time. It was almost like when I had marathon sex with Nysa and Fleur and wanted to pass out from exhaustion. I gained a lot from this ritual. A massive strength, stamina, durability, and speed upgrade. I nearly doubled my magical power. Sadly, his magical knowledge wasn't very impressive, because he preferred more 'manly' forms of combat, but I was still happy with the results. Authors Note: Okay, everyone. In chapter thirty, there will be the Battle of Hogwarts, and I'll set up phase two... Hadrian James Potter: Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of, Peverell, Slytherin, Gaunt, and Gryffindor. Master of: Transfiguration, Charms, Dark Arts, Herbology, Alchemy, Potions, Ancient Runes, and many other subjects and skills... Versus... The God of Olympus and the Athens School of Divine Magic! Beings believed to be virtually all-powerful by their descendants. They have thousands of years of experience, thousands of allies, weapons of immense power, and mastery of the powers Harry coveted for himself and stole. This grudge match will only end with one sides destruction!